Latest Employment Tribunal Statistics Published
The Ministry of Justice has published the latest statistics.
The figures show that the number of single claims (those made by a sole employee/worker) were more or less unchanged compared to the same period last year (around 4,300). The number of multiple claims (where two or more people bring proceedings arising out of the same facts, usually against a common employer) has increased by 45% on the same period in 2015 as a result of a working time dispute within the airline industry. The number of multiple claims tends to vary considerably from year to year.
This means that the average number of single claims is approximately 70% lower than it was before the introduction of employment tribunal fees in 2013. The debate as to whether fees should exist at all and, if so, at what level they should be set, rumbles on. Some see the reduction in employment tribunal cases as a success and others as evidence that there is now a serious problem with access to justice. The government's own report into the issue remains unpublished. Unison, the union, is challenging the fee system in the courts and its case is due to be heard by the Supreme court in March 2017.